Thousands of tourists have visited Kashmir this summer, encouraged by recent peace overtures by India and Pakistan who have fought two wars over the strife-torn Himalayan region.
Nearly 66,000 tourists, including 2,400 foreigners, have visited Jammu and Kashmir so far this year compared to 10,104 during the same period last year, Sheikh Nisar, a senior Kashmiri tourism official, told Reuters.
He said the trend indicated that more tourists were likely to visit the violence-torn region this year than in 1999, when a record 217,000 tourists visited the state.
The Kashmir Valley, the heart of the insurgency, is home to snow-capped mountains, pine forests, verdant meadows and blue lakes that are dotted with houseboats. The tourist season lasts until late October.
Before 1989, Kashmir was one of Asia's most popular tourist destinations, particularly with trekkers and honeymooners, and attracted a million tourists every year, about 40 per cent of them foreigners. The weather was a magnet for Indians fleeing the sun-baked plains in the summer.
But the almost daily bombings, shootouts between troops and insurgents and occasional attacks on tourists shattered the peace of the region and reduced visitors to about 30,000 per year.
The violence also forced most Western nations to advise their nationals against visiting Kashmir.
Tour operators said tourists now felt confident about visiting Kashmir after a thaw in India-Pakistan ties, triggered by Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's renewed bid in April to make peace between the nuclear-armed neigbhours.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the Kashmir rebels. Pakistan denies the charge. Despite the thaw, violence has continued unabated and police said 11 people were killed across the state on Thursday.
"I am sure the peace initiatives have encouraged these tourists," said Mohammad Aksar, a houseboat owner. "I pray that peace returns to the valley."
Rahul Bharti, a medical doctor visiting Kashmir, said he had a "wrong notion" that Kashmir was not safe.
"But on reaching here we were amazed. Things are far better than we have heard," he said during a visit to Srinagar. "It is breathtaking, very beautiful."
